Intel i5 2500K vs amd x6 1100t

[rumplestitzkin]

I am building a new rig for gaming, i am mostly going to play star wars the old republic. I cant decide on weather to build an intel machine with an i5 2500K for an extra $160 or build an amd system with a x6 1100t for less(160 less). All other parts for the rig are the same except for mobo(which will be msi z68 for intel, or MSi AM3+) and the processors. Also if the x6 1100t is the right choice what are anyones thoughts on the x6 1100t vs fx 6100?

 

[rds1220]

I am building a new rig for gaming, i am mostly going to play star wars the old republic. I cant decide on weather to build an intel machine with an i5 2500K for an extra $160 or build an amd system with a x6 1100t for less(160 less). All other parts for the rig are the same except for mobo(which will be msi z68 for intel, or MSi AM3+) and the processors. Also if the x6 1100t is the right choice what are anyones thoughts on the x6 1100t vs fx 6100?

Right now I would say the 2500k would be you best choice. More cores doesn't mean faster processing. Today most games only use 2 cores for gaming. The i5 is also faster and beats out the AMD in most gaming benchmarks. The I5 is right now the best all around CPU for gaming.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Right now I don't think that there is a better processor on the market in terms of price vs. performance and close to the top performance in the Intel® Core™ i5-2500K. Matched up with a good p67 or Z68 board and you are doing very well.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Kays1n]

I've heard mixed things about the FX series, so I'd avoid it for now. Like when the Sandy Bridge series came out and there was a recall due to a flaw in the chip. Although I do like the fact that AMD is better in terms of their socketing (being able to avoid all this LGA 1155 vs LGA 1156 nonsense), Intel's Sandy Bridge series is affordable as well as efficient, ranking very high up on benchmarks. Also, concerning cores, I'd say you'll be fine with a quad core, I have yet to encounter somebody who has actually NEEDED a six core processor, especially for a task like gaming. I'm personally rebuilding my computer right now, and I'm leaning heavily towards the i5-2500K due to its outstanding reviews.

 

[CvK01]

The 2500k is the clear performance leader of the choices you consider from a gaming perspective. That said, the difference compared to a 6x 1100t will be slight unless you also go for a serious GPU. If you are into regularly upgrading your PC anyway you may want to save the money whilst the 2500k will keep you happy for longer.

Regarding the FX series I also agree with everyone else that the reviews have been so disappointing (low single threaded performance, high power draw and heat) that it's not worth considering unless the price comes down a lot.

I am very happily using a 2600k @ 4.5 Ghz since Feb and I really can't fault it.